Shrapnel-guide.



R. MACHBNBAGH.

SHRAPNEL GUIDE.

APrLIoATIoN FILED MAB. 12. 1912.

Patented June 23, 19114,

'l muren srerns earner nicnennnecnnnsecn, or' scHLEsUscH, NEAR COLOGNE, esami-iur'.

erinnerst-suine.

Melese.

To cz-ZZ whom, it may coc/ccm Be it known l, ilicitano MACHEN- nscri, a subject ci the German Eni eror, and resident ol Sclilebusch, near Co ogneon-the-llliine, Gerina have invented a certain new and useful improvement in Shrapuel-Guides` of which the following 1s a specification.

This invention has tor its object to provide a packing for guide-rods for shells to be fired -from fire-arms or guns, the caliber of which is less than that of the shell. proper. Such shells are provided with guide rods, which are introduced into the barrel ot the fire-arm and before iring must be 4caused to lit tightly 'within the bore.

llitherto it has been usual to form packina either by lifting to the guide rod two elements provided with plane and parallel surfaces between which is placed plastic material, which, as soon as the gases press the two elements against one another, is pressed outwardly against the surfaces of the bores of the lire-arm, or else a conical packing element has been employed which is loosely connected with a -correspondingly shaped conical part ot the guide rod and is driven into the same on explosion so thattlns par-t is also pressed outward against the wall*` or" the barrel. Finally packingI means vare also known in which a hollow conical body intended as packing is deformed by the di` rect action ot the gases. All these 'packing means are imperfect on 'the one hand for .the reason that the pressure of the gases, which is necessary for tightness is not constant, even when exactly equal charges `are used because it is dependent on the eiliciency of packing which the pressure itself must first produce. @n the other hand these packing means are imperfect because the extent of separation or adeforn'iation of two conical surfaces or of the extrusion of the plastic packing` material between two plane surfaces is not strictly invariable as slight variations in the composition-of the material or in the coefficients of friction ot the contacting` surfaces-produce substantial differences. ln addition, it is very ditllcult if not quite impossible to adjust the inertia of two bodies propelled simultaneously by the -sarne agency so that a relative movement of the bodies takes place with exactly the desired energy. These inconveniencies are avoided according to the-present invention which Specification ol Letters atent. i .ppl'loation led serch l2 )Patented June 23, finden.

, 1912. serial no. essen.

provides for the employment of a ce projectile serving; to produce or afford a packing when shot into soc formed in zin-extension ol? t'ie guide rod, the extension consisting` of suitable material, this projectile being preferably cylindrical and of somewhat larger diameter than the cylindrical socket. By shooting' the projectile into the packing element it is insured that the pressure of the frases and the packing produced thereby will not be dependent on one another, any uncertainty of' production and the correct difference of the acceleration is avoided, because the projectile is accelerated by the pressure oi the gases before the latter act upon the projectile proper or rather on the `@,uide rod. A certain volume of powder in the cartridge corresponds therefore to an exactly predeterminable iinpact of the projectile. The cylindrical formation of the projectile and olA the socket allows any desired variation of the impact of the projectile in excess of the minimum necessary to drire the projectile into the socket without producing by the varying force (as for example in thecase of conical surfaces) a. variation of the quality of packing and tightness.

Several embodiments of the inyention are represented. in. .the-.accompanying drawings in which- M Figure l. is ari-elevation partly in section of a sliellor shrapnel having my guide connected thereto. Figp shows al cartridge in elevation and a longitudinal section of the rear end of' a guide rod provided with one form of packing. Figs. 3, 4,: and 51 are par.- tial sectional views of guide rods having modified forms of packings, and Fig. 6 is a' .is screwed into the projection and forms an annular space l2 for the reception of the end of the gun.

The safety device for holding the percussion bolt 8 is of a well known type, and'comercussion bolt and is normally held in place y a pin l5 which is connected to' a lever' if? aov prises afbolt 14 which projects through' the` lie 14 so that the latter may be removed by the' f action of a spring 16 to ermit the operation of the percussion bolt W ien the shell ,isv fired. The iide rod 18 is provided at its rear end Wit an expansible extension 21.0f suitable material (for example copper). This extension, which is formed with a cylindrical socket 21, is eiected in the construction shown in Figs. 2 and 3 by Screwing into the guide rod 13 the threaded part of the eX- ,tensionL ln the construction shown in Fig. 4 a special stud 22 is employed, which stud is threaded at one end in the guide rod 13 and at the other into the extension 21. Fig. 5 shows an embodiment in `which a tube 24 of oo per or the like is sleeved onto the reducedp end 25 of the ,guide rod 13 so that it extends a little beyond the rod.

In all the embodiments the cylindrical projectile 23 (liig. 2) of the cartridge is shot into the socket, the diameter of' the projectile 23 beingl a little larger than the diameter of the socket. The projectile 23 passes on ring into the socket and. expands the wall of the same, so that this Wall bears against the inner Wall of the barrel and in riiied barrels enters the riding' (F i 6) whereby a gas tight packing is forme In addition, the extension 21 is provided with longitudinal or lateral openings 26, 2'?, re spectively which permit escape et the .air from the socket on shooting in the projectile.

maniac 1. A guide of the character described, comprising a rod having a socket on itsrear end composed of a deformable material adapted to be expanded by the action-of a projectile driven into the socket on the eX- plosion of the cartridge. 2. A guide ofv he character described,

comprising a rod having a cylindrical socket composed of a deformable material adapted to be expanded by the action of a cylindrical projectile of a larger diameter lthan the socket.

panded by the action of a projectile driven into the socket.

5. A guide of the character described, comprising a rod having a reduced end, a copper tube mounted on said end and forming a socket adapted to be expanded by the action of a projectile driven into the socket on the explosion of 'the cartridge.

RCHARD MACHENBACH.

Witnesses:

Bassie l5'. DUNLAP,

looms Wanneer. 

